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371 engine in the 88 and a 394 in the 98. Extra and more trim, I don't know about the longer trunk, never heard of that before? And probably has more "Power" options, like brakes, steering and windows/locks. Oh and a dash clock!

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The 98 has a longer wheel base which shows up in the longer panel between the rear window and the trunk lid. (it throws the proportions off to my eye.) I much prefer the shorter 88 and super 88 bodies. The super 88 is the shits. IMHO

The wheel base difference was a common GM deal. The Pontiac star chief had a longer wheel base than Super chief and Chieftains.

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A '61 Olds 98 had a longer tail end, higher trim level, and the roof profile was much more akin, if not the same as a Buick/Cadillac 2 door hardtop of the same year.

A '61 Oldsmobile 88 had a shorter deck, lower teim level, and a roof profile more like the "bubble top" of the Chevy/Pontiac 2 door hardtops.

There were trim differences between the Dynamic & Super 88's as well. It should be noted that you could order a stripped down 98, or a well-equppied 88. I have seen both. The 98 always had the top engine, but you could typically order the hot engine in the lower level 88 as well, just less common.

The 88's are seemingly more popular, due to the extremely smooth bubble top. The 98 2-door is pretty scarce, as most folks seemed to get the fully dressed Olds as a family car.

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Funny this topic came up....as my old '61 88 popped up on the local CL and I don't have the funds to buy her back....dammit....
The 88 is a better looking car.....but I wouldn't turn down a 98 if the price were right....that or a Starfire.
My favorite GM car......

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I think you'll find the floorpan is different also, I've seen some conflicting data here but if like Pontiac, the top line cars (Bonneville, 98) continued to use the dual-coupling Hydramatic, same as Cadillac, while the smaller full size cars (Catalina, Ventura, 88) used the new Slim-Jim Roto-Hydramatic, which is good for around 70,000 miles (give or take) and then blows up. The ones with the Slim Jim have a different floorpan with a smaller trans tunnel.

I say conflict because as far as I knew all Oldsmobiles had the Slim Jim, but I've seen some posts and info that the 98s did not.

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The 98's belong to the 90 series, or the senior cars. They have a 126" w.b. and more appointments/bigger standard tires. The 80 series was an upgrd to the 70 series (76 model is a 70 series w/a straight 6cyl in it), and generally rcvd the V8. By '61 that's all they had, of course, and the Dynamic 88 too the lower compression "Mile Maker" 371 with a 2bbl carb. The Super 88 had the Dynamic body and the 98 drivetrain, 394 4bbl, but also shared the appointments of the Dynamic. Of course, everything was optional.

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98 was the topline car built by Oldsmobile for the guy who could almopst affird a Caddy, the 88 was built for the average guy to tool around in and the little known model was the urinate , built for just pissing around in!

It's an old thread but I couldn't help myself. I had a 61' Super 88. Black with the burgandy and red interior. The speedometer was a horizontal colored bar that changed color when you reached a particular speed.
The Dynamic 88, Super 88 as well as the Classic 98 all came with 394 engines but there were 2 versions of the 394.
The Dynamic 88 came standard with the 250hp 394 Rocket engine and the Super 88 and the 98 came standard with the 325hp Sky Rocket 394 engine which was new for 1961. The Sky Rocket 394 was optional on the Dynamic 88.

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I had a 61 Buick with the bubble roof. Pretty sure it was an Invicta but could have been a LaSabre. I love that roof. Chevy's Belair of 1962 carried over that roof on the 2dr HT only. What about the other brands?

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I believe that only Chevy used that top in '62. People who live in sunny climates (i.e. Arizona) say that the big rear window is horrible for heating up the interior; maybe that's the reason it was really only used for one model year.

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Funny this topic came up....as my old '61 88 popped up on the local CL and I don't have the funds to buy her back....dammit....
The 88 is a better looking car.....but I wouldn't turn down a 98 if the price were right....that or a Starfire.
My favorite GM car......

Click to expand...

Josh
Was the Starfire the baby olds? Seems like they made one that was smaller then the rest.

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Pretty sure all 61s had 394s...no 371 engines. A Dynamic 88 had a 394 low compression 2 barrel carb engine standard though I've had them with a 4 barrel carb....it was an option...where the 98 and the Starfire came with the Super Skyrocket 394 4 barrel high compression engine...to answer the op's question...98s had longer wheelbase..more trim...more standard equipment..and the engine I listed above. Front clips are the same save for trim holes....same trunk lids regardless of series or body style...